Events

10th May (Sat). Please join the Independent Socialists in Wellingborough on the International Waendel Walk. Meet 10.00am outside The Castle Theatre, Wellingborough. If you have one, please bring along a small red flag that can fit in your ruck sack! Also wear your Wellingborough Diggers T-shirt (if you have one). There are two walks that we will be

taking: one 10km and the other 15km. There are great views along and across the Nene valley and regular refreshments breaks (at least one in Great Doddington Working Mens Club, who do great beers and sandwiches/food!!).

16th May (Friday)International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, The Courtyard, The Guildhall, Northampton. There will be a minute of noise, and we would like to encourage you to bring along instruments to join in with this. The ceremony will be followed by refreshments in the Court Room.Everyone is welcome to attend the ceremony – we would like to invite Councillors, community members and community organisations to help Northampton Borough Council recognise the day.

31st May Reclaim Our NHS Stalls: 11am Cobblers’ Last statue Abington St, 2pm second floor of the Grosvenor Centre with Community Courtyard.

6th/7th (Friday/Sat)June Women Chainmakers Festival, Cradley Heath, Sandwell. Saturday will be a great day out for the family. Speakers, theatre, music and planty for the kids to do. For details: 7304_1 Chainmakers_2014_leaflet_final2.

21st June People’s Assembly National Demonstration and free festival. Assemble 1pm, BBC HQ, Portland Place (Tube: Oxford Circus) March to Parliament. Coaches are being organised from across the country – get in touch with your local People’s Assembly group for transport details: http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/local-groups

1. Pregnancy. The TUC is undertaking some work on the experiences of women who are discriminated against during pregnancy or while on maternity leave. We are keen to hear from women who have experienced pregnancy discrimination themselves but we are also keen to hear from union officers, reps, and helpline staff who handle these cases and who may be able to give some insight into the types of cases they deal with, whether the cases are resolved or whether they go to tribunal, whether there has been an increase in these types of cases etc. We would also be interested to hear about any sectors or industries where pregnancy discrimination appears to be a particular problem.

The present European Commission have put a moratorium on any new regulations on a range of workers rights and are actively considering reducing rights in some areas. It is clear that a considerable number of MEPs support the Commissions deregulatory agenda. Given that we are shortly to have elections to the European Parliament, you may want to consider gauging the views of candidates in your area to seek to try to commit

them to voting to keep or expand existing rights on health and safety, working time and agency workers. The TUC has drafted a European elections survey that you might want to consider issuing to all candidates. It can be adapted to meet any local concerns. Given that most European constituencies cover the area of a number of Trades Councils, you are encouraged to liaise with other local Trades Council and the regional TUC.

3. Job Insecurity.

The TUC is launching a survey on job insecurity. Please find attached a leaflet promoting the survey. We would be very grateful if you could promote the survey and encourage responses amongst your networks. The TUC is particularly interested in responses from zero hours contract workers, agency workers, and those in temporary work. But we are also keen to hear from other workers who face problems of short hours working, job insecurity and / or low pay. We will use the findings from the survey as part of our campaign for a better deal for people at work. The survey will go live at http://www.tuc.org.uk/jobinsecurity on 2 May 2014 and will close on 20 June 2014.

20th Feb This Thursday: Demo at against NCC budget cuts. Assemble 9.15 for 9.30 start outside County Hall George Row. Placards will be provided. Please come along, even if for a short while.

25th Feb: The 2014 conference on pay bargaining organised by the TUC and Incomes Data Services will take place on Tuesday 25 February in Congress House. The theme will be “A Decent Pay System” and the event will combine a discussion about the design of a better pay system with realistic guidance and information for union officers. Sessions will cover pay benchmarking, pay progression, performance management, skills and lessons from union successes. The keynote speaker will be Ed Sweeney, recently retired as Chair of ACAS. Unions are able to book places for substantially less than the fee normally charged for equivalent

22nd/23rd March TUC Young Worker’s Conference: The TUC Young Workers Conference is held annually at the home of the TUC, Congress House in London. The Conference allows young trade union members to take part in shaping the work programmme of the TUC Young Workers Forum and inform TUC policy. The conference will discuss and debate motions submitted by TUC affiliates and there will also be a number of workshops on issues relevant to the issues faced by young workers. Before the formal start of the Conference there will be a networking event for women delegates and visitors. This begins at 11am on Saturday March 22nd in Congress House. http://www.tuc.org.uk/node/119510

26th April: Corby Workers’ Memorial Day. GMB Northants Community branch will be holding an event to mark the day. We will be holding it at 1100.am at the Steelworker Statue in James Ashurst VC Square, Corby town centre.

If the weather is poor we will hold it in the council chamber. Speakers will include Andy Sawford and Hannah from Labour Behind the Label who work to help those, particularly in the clothing industry in Asia, who have few if any rights and make the clothes most of wear everyday. We will be entertained before the event by Youth Brass 2000 who played last year and were very well received.

7th June: Women’s Chainmakers’ Festival – advance notice of date.

Useful links and requests for help

Left Unity have produced an International Woman’s Day Broadsheet with a lot of articles on topical issues, three of which have been written by Northampton women: IWD

Barnet Unison and GMB asks you to watch You Tube about the removal of facility time and then sign their petition and consider sending them a message of support from your union: http://youtu.be/ciyhwesraBs

Last newsletter before Xmas! I will try to get a calendar out over the holiday – there are several dates in here so please have a good look through. I hope you all get at least some break over the Xmas period.

Trades Council Report

Different unions and organisations are now being asked to discuss and come up with some ideas for the Vision For Northampton, so you or your union/organisation may be contacted in the near future with suggestions on how to go about this. Please could you put the item on your branch or meeting agenda.

* Merging of police and Fire & Rescue – staff implications (could reduce number of staff, and/or pay and terms and conditions) and subsequent implications for quality of service

* Voluntary Sector Funding reduction – charities and voluntary groups could close or reduce their activities

* Social Services staffing reduction (MAP Team) – reduce back office staff, and impact on placements. This could be time taken to allocate care worker or move someone into a care home. Also more placements could be made inappropriately. eg. more “15 minutes of personal care”

LGSS Proposals – reduce back office staff for HR, Finance and IT departments which are already stretched. Impact on other departments (eg social services) reliant on these back office functions

* Charging for Social Care – increasing charges for placements and transport, especially for non-statutory and low level needs – will this be affordable for users?!

Could everyone looks at the detail of the draft budget to identify what are the concerns which are worth protesting about, over the Xmas and New Year period with a view to having a meeting early Jan? Alternatively, if any campaign groups wish to lead

a campaign perhaps contact NTUC who will can circulate an invite on your behalf to our contact list?

Also if you require further detail about any of the proposals then it will be worth going along to the various Scrutiny meetings on different topics – further information and dates of meetings here: Scrutiny – draft budget

Useful links and other resources and events:

Left Unity: Meeting tonight at Old Black Lion at 7 for members and open for non-members 8pm. Next meetings January 8th and 22nd. These will also be for party members in the first hour, second hour open to non-members.

One billion and rising global day of action against violence against women. The Northampton Borough Women’s Forum has set up a working group to organise an event on February 14th. They are looking at having an event at lunch time in the Market Square. Please note the date in your diary. More info to come.

People’s Assembly: Action Plan of events including support for students, Women’s Assembly, Budget events and then May Day etc.

Events for your diaries

27th July: Bedroom Tax Protest Wellingborough. A protest against the bedroom tax will be held on Saturday July 27th 2013 at 1.00pm in Wellingborough town centre. There will be a stall, leafleting and and

30th July: Bedroom Tax Protest at Council meeting Wellingborough. On Tuesday, July 30th at 6.30pm @ the Council offices, Swanspool, Doddington Road, there will be a protest in support of a motion at the Council meeting that evening calling on housing associations not to evict tenants who get into debt as a result of bedroom tax.

4th August: Sunday Red Rope Walk. The Northampton Area Red Rope Socialist walking group have their next walk on Sunday 4th August. It’s a six mile circular walk from Everdon, (GR 595 575 OS Explorer Map 207) via Newnham, Badby, and Fawsley Park. This is through one of the most scenic parts of Northamptonshire.

The Northampton group is new. If you would like to help get the group off the ground and for details of the the 4th August walk please contact altstratgroup@gmail.com or telephone Roger on 01604 702632.

13th August: 1923 Braunston Canal Workers’ Strike Celebration at 3 pm, in the Stop House Garden, The Wharf, Braunston, Northamptonshire, NN11 7JQ. Admission is free. ‘There will be short guided walks, music and a rally. Bring a picnic. A floating cafe, Gongoozlers, will open specially for teas and snacks. If you would like to join us or can help in any way we would be delighted to hear from you. We have flyers and

17th and 18th August: Umbrella Fair. NTUC will be organising a stall. Please could any organisation wishing to join us let Pat Markey know asap and cc to Ron Mendel. We will need volunteers to man the stall and help put it up and down. Website: http://www.umbrellafair.org.uk/

14th September: The NGH AGM will take place on Saturday 14th September at 11.00 am in the Main Lecture Theatre, Cripps Postgraduate Medical Centre, Northampton General Hospital. There will be the opportunity to ask questions of members of the Trust Board either by submitting a question beforehand or at the meeting.

29th September: TUC March and rally in Manchester to lobby Conservative Party Conference – http://NHS299.org

Hi, I am slowly getting the hang of writing blogs, but please bear with any errors of format and style!

Events

Wed 20th March: Please support the PCS action by calling in on a picket line. They will be in the usual places, including Northgate House in Sheep St, the MOJ Bulk Centre in St Katherines St, the Job Centre in the Lower Mounts and the courts from 7.30. There will be a gathering for a photo call at some stage – we’ll try and get more details out later.

Sat 23rd March am: Help is needed for the NHS action on staff shortages, bed shortages etc at NGH, planned by Northampton Reclaim Our NHS group and supported by NADS and NTUC. There will be some street theatre with people dressed as doctors, nurses and patients, but if you don’t fancy that, people will be needed for the stall and giving out leaflets. Please contact Ron Mendel or Ben King. Details of event tbc.

Also on the 23rd :

The Labour Party has a conference on Education Policy 10 -12.30 at University of Northampton, Park Campus Sulgrave Building. Target participants are Labour Party members, Labour Party supporters, local educators. The purpose of the seminar is to consider current trends in education 5 – 19, and consider a Northampton contribution to national policy.There will be speakers and workshops on academies, the

Steve Gillan POA. The entrance fee is £6. Cheques can be made payable to ‘National Shop Stewards Network’ – either email info@shopstewards.net or reply to PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE

Other union news

Unite members: there will be a General Secretary Election Meeting at the Cotton Club, Main Rd Far Cotton, NN4 8EN on Wed 20th March at 7.30. All members welcome.

The FBU is campaigning against the Public Public Sector Pensions Bill which will raise the age of retirement for firefighters to 60. Yet its own report published earlier this year shows most firefighters cannot work safely until that age. More info from the FBU website.

Health and Safety

Hazards at Work – get your copy now! The new edition of the TUC’s best-selling guide to health and safety at work it out now. It is used by reps, officers, employers, professionals in the field and even enforcement officers. Find out more, including how to get hold of your copy click here: Hazards at Work

This is the core course for trade union health and safety representatives. It is the first stage in the TUC health and safety training programme. It is designed to help you build the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to carry out your work as a safety rep. If you would like to register for the course please click here and complete the form.

If you require any further information about this course please contact:-
TUC Education Online tuceducationhelp@tuc.org.uk tel: 020 7079 6929.

TUC ‘Green’ Budget Submission 2013

Industrial policy for the green economy: The TUC’s ‘Green’ Budget submission calls for a

Well I’m back again! Nick isn’t able to take on the Assistant Sec job at the moment as he’ll be moving to a different branch of Unite and will have to get re-elected as a delegate to NTUC. Let’s hope that happens soon, as we need his energy and

As you have discovered, we now have an NTUC blog. It won’t be for discussions as we haven’t time to moderate it and there are plenty of other forums for that. But we will try to keep you up to date with events and newsletters.

have divided this newsletter into two blog entries as it will be too long otherwise. I will put all the TUC info on courses, H&S and interesting blogs on a separate page. So please take a look at it as well.

We will also be putting some help pages up. We currently get queries from mainly non-unionised people who want to know what union they should join, how to go about it and also how to deal with problems such as disciplinaries, redundancy, bullying and health and safety. I am currently drafting some pages with links – once they are up you can let me know if I need to alter it or add info. It will be work in progress – I’d like to get at least something up pretty soon.